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JSSD expenses come in under budget

By PAT CROSSLEY

pcrossley@sungazette.com

JERSEY SHORE — Expenses for the 2018-19 fiscal year in the Jersey Shore Area School District came in under budget, while revenue was over the budget amount leaving the district with a $1.6 million surplus, according to a report on the preliminary financial audit shared by Ben Enders, district business manager.

Expenditures were under by $367,000, or 1 percent of what the district had budgeted, while revenue came in $1.3 million or 3.25 percent over budget, Enders reported to the board Monday night.

“Those two are good combinations,” he said.

The surplus can be directly linked to about 15 accounts, nine expenditure accounts and six revenue accounts, Enders said. Expenditure accounts included salaries, benefits, unemployment compensation, IU contract with BLaST, substitute teacher costs, cost of mold remediation, cyber charter school costs, contingency line item and pre-K counts. These accounted for about $300,000.

Enders reported that on the revenue side, the majority of the variance is from local revenue.

“Our collections are doing very good which can be a sign of the economy. It can be a sign of multiple factors” he said.

Real estate taxes came in over budget as well a payments-in-lieu of taxes. The earned income tax, delinquent real estate taxes, interests earnings on investments and the debt reimbursement from the state are contributed to revenue for the district coming in over budget.

Enders noted that the $380,000 in debt reimbursement is directly connected to Plancon J money the district received from the Jersey Shore Elementary School project.

“That is the only reason we have the surplus in that line item,” he said.

Four of the accounts under expenditures have been adjusted for the current school year, Enders said.

Based on the audit’s findings, Enders recommended that the board assign the debt reimbursement amount of $380,000 in an account to offset future Plancon J costs for the middle and high school projects which had been approved by the board.

“That would give you a little bit of a savings account, which would hopefully pay for all of it or at least offset some of it,” he said.

Enders also recommended that the board take at least $250,000 of the surplus and transfer it to the capital projects account.

“That at minimum would pay for the current pool project that was approved on Oct. 17,” Enders noted.

The remainder of the amount of the surplus would be placed in the unassigned fund balance account.

When questioned if the district ended the year with a budget deficit, Enders said that the year end came in at a deficit, but that the actual results ended up with a surplus.

A vote will be taken on the recommendations at the Nov. 11 meeting.

In other business, the board approved the purchase of pollution liability insurance coverage including non-owned disposal site liability for a period of three years from Evanston/Markel Insurance at a cost of $26,660.

The policy covers such things as mold remediation and the sewage treatment plant at Salladasburg Elementary School.

The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 at the administration building, 175 A & P Drive.

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